Gas cutting and marking device

ABSTRACT

A device for gas cutting, which is also applicable for marking by operating a valve so as to eject a mixed stream of carrier gas such as air and marking powder such as metal powder from an ejecting nozzle usually used for ejection of cutting oxygen. The device can be used either for gas cutting or for making a cutting line by a very simple switching operation.

United States Patent 1 Hayasaki et al.

[ 51 Mar. 27, 1973 GAS CUTTING AND MARKING DEVICE Inventors: Hidehiko Hayasaki, Tokyo; Takehiko l-layashi, Saitama, both of Japan Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tanaka Seisakusho, Tokyo, Japan Filed: Mar. 5, 1971 App1.No.: 121,325

Foreign Application Priority Data 4 Mar. 19, 1970 Japan ..45/22696 11.5. C1. ..239/85, 239/289, 239/304, 239/372, 239/414 Int. Cl. ..B05b 13/00 Field of Search ..266/23.5; 239/85, 80, 297,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,726,118 12/1955 Jones et a1 ..239/85 1,912,759 6/1933 Clark ..239/366 X 2,430,511 11/1947 Hughey .....239/289 X 2,526,735 10/1950 Duce ..239/424 X 2,643,622 6/1953 Mcincke et al.... ....266/23.5 2,549,736 4/1951 Wiese .239/85 4/1969 Hawk, Sr ..239/289 X Primary ExaminerM. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant Examiner-John J. Love Attorney-Sughrue, Rothwell, Mion, Zinn & Macpeak [57] ABSTRACT A device for gas cutting, which is also applicable for marking by operating a valve so as to eject a mixed stream of carrier gas such as air and marking powder such as metal powder from an ejecting nozzle usually used for ejection of cutting oxygen. The device can be used either for-gas cutting or for making a cutting line by a very simple switching operation.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Patented March 27, 1973 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 GAS CUTTING AND MARKING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for gas cutting and marking, more particularly to a device applicable for the both purposes by a very simple switching operation.

2. Description of the Prior Art There has not been disclosed a gas cutting machine which is commonly applicable for marking of a cutting line on a work piece. By the recent development of numerical controlling system of the gas cutting device, the installation cost for an automatic gas cutting device becomes a considerable amount. Under such circumstances, the requirement for a novel device which may be commonly used both for gas cutting and for marking has been realized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 7 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematical cross sectional view for explaining the principle of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram partly in section showing the main portion of the gas cutting and marking device according to the present invention; I

FIG. 3 is a more detailed cross sectional view of the" blow pipe and nozzleportion of the device; and

FIG. 4 is a simplified diagram showing a practical application of the device according to the present invention to an automatic gas cuttingmach ine'.

, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a view illustrating principle of the operation of the device according to the invention when the cutting device is used for marking.

In the drawing, 1 generally shows the top portion of a nozzle of'gas cutting and marking device, which comprises a central hole 2 used for ejecting cutting oxygen in case the device is used for gas cutting. Passageway 3 for preheating flame is arranged about the central hole 2 same as an ordinary gas cutting device.

If the device is used for marking a cutting line, mixed gas stream consisting of carrier gas such as for instance, oxygen,-air, nitrogen,-car bon dioxide, argon, etc. and fusible powder of metal, such as, zinc, aluminum, tin, copper, iron, magnesium, etc. or plastic powder is ejected from the central hole 2 and at the same time burning flame 5 and 6 consisting of mixed gas of oxygen and acetylene, etc. surrounding the central ejecting stream 4 is blown to the work piece 7. By this operation the fusible powder in the central jet stream 4 is melted by the surrounding flame 5 and 6 and fused onto the workpiece 7. By moving the nozzle 1 in an'appropriate speed with respect to the work piece 7 while maintaining such ejection jet stream 4 and surrounding flame 5 and 6, a very clear thin marked line is fused onto the work piece 7. If the nozzle is moved along a line of predetermined pattern, contour of a desired cutting line is reproduced onto the work piece. Such control of movement of the nozzle may conveniently be carried out by combining the nozzle with a numerical controlling system.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the essential portion of the device according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a slightly enlarged diagram showing a more detailed cross-section of the blow pipe and nozzle portion of the device.

The nozzle 1 is secured at an opening end of the blow pipe 9 by means of a fastening nut 8. The construction of FIG. 3 is just the same as an ordinary gas cutting nozzle attached with a blow pipe. The cutting oxygen is introduced through a supply hole 13 and fed through a central bore 10 to the central ejecting outlet hole 2. The fuel gas is introduced into the blow pipe via a feeding hose 14 and fed through a passageway 11 and then 'carried by preheating oxygen stream which is fed through a feeding hose 15 and passageway 12 to form a mixed burning gas and ejected through the passageway 3 around the central oxygen stream. This construction of the cutting device is well known in the art and need not be discussed in more detail.

According to the present invention a three-way valve 16 having three openings A, B and C is inserted between the route of feeding oxygen hose 13. As indicated in FIG. 2, the cutting oxygen feeding hose 13 leading to the blow pipe 9 is connected to the opening C and the hose 13' located at further source side is connected to the opening A. Also, a three-way joint 17 is inserted between the hose 13' and the hose 13" which above mentioned fusible powder 20 and, has its upper closed lid 21a to form a closed chamber. The lid 21a is provided with an opening which is connected to a hose- 22 which in turn is connected to the opening B of the three-way valve 16.

The hose 18, the nozzle 19 and hose 22 consist a branch way passing through the dispenser 21. The

, three-way valve 16 comprises a valve element 16a controlled by a switching handle 16b.

If the device is to be used as an ordinary gas cutting device'the rotating handle 16b is rotated up to the position D indicated by a chain line so that the opening A of the three-way valve is connected to the opening C. In

this condition, the opening B of the valve 16 leading to the branch way is closed. Therefore, the high pressure cutting oxygen is fed from the hoses13", 13' and through the opening A and the opening C and then via the hose l3 and thus introduced into the blow pipe 9.

The gas cutting operation is effected in a usual-manner.

If the device is to be used for marking, the handle 16b is operated .to come in a position shown in FIG. 2. Then the opening A is closed and the opening B is connected to the opening C, so that the above mentioned branch route becomes effective. The cutting oxygen fed through the hose 18 is ejected into the closed space of the dispenser 21. The fusible powder contained in the dispenser 21 is blown by the ejected stream so that a mixed stream is formed. This stream is fed into the blow pipe 9 via the hose 22 and then through the openings B and C and the hose 13. This mixed stream is ejected from the central hole 2 as illustrated in FIG. 1, and the powder is heated by the surrounding preheating flame ejected from passageway 3 and marks a fused line onto the work piece 7.

At the time of marking, the pressure of oxygen need not be so high as that for the time of cutting since this oxygen is just for use as a carrier gas of the fusible powder. Such necessary control of the pressure of the feeding oxygen can easily be effected in a known manner at the supplying device (not shown). Also the flow rate of the surrounding preheating flame can be decreased when compared with that for use in an ordinary gas cutting.

If the fusible powder is selected as of easily oxidizable material, the oxygen carrier gas may be replaced by air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, argon, etc. considering a suitable combination of the gas and the nature of the powder.

FIG. 4 shows a practical application of the present invention for an automatic gas cutting device so asto use the device for gas cutting and also automatic marking. In the figure, 23 shows guide rails, 24 is the frame of the device, 25 is a tracing surface plate, 26 is an eyetracer, 27 is a moving desk and 28 is a work piece such as a steel plate. In the figure, four sets of blow pipe 9 and nozzle 1 are shown. All of these nozzles are conveniently controlled to effect both marking and gas cutting by attaching them to dispenser set 21 in the manner previously set forth.

The device according to the present invention has an essential feature of enabling very rapid switching of the operation between marking and cutting since the nozzle can be used for the both purposes. For instance, a numerical controlled gas cutting device may conveniently be used by marking in the programmed control tape indicating programmed changing points of effecting changeover between the marking and the gas cutting. By introducing this automatic switching system, the operation can be effected very efficiently.

Further feature of the present invention is that the same hole of the nozzle for cutting'oxygen is used for ejecting the mixed marking stream, so that the marked line and the cutting line reproduced from a same original figure or a programmed tape may coincide completely with each other.

Such practical advantage may be explained in the following manner.

The marking speed can be made in an order of 0.5- meters per minute. On the contrary, the gas cutting speed is much lower, for instance, in an order of 0.2-0.7 meter per minute. Accordingly, a plurality of steel plates can be treated to provide marking by means of a single gas cutting and marking device very rapidly. Then the working pieces may be cut by other simple cutting machine with automatic or manual tracing. Meanwhile, the main automatic cutting machine may also be used for the same cutting work according to the need. In other words, the present invention affords a great advantage in an application for highly accurate and highly efficient cutting of a plurality of work pieces.

A number of experiments have been carried out by actual devices made according to the present inven tion. According to such experiments, the ejected jet stream of the mixture can be kept in a form comparative to the ejecting nozzle. The width of a marking line obtained in accordance with the present invention is about 0.8 times the inner diameter of the ejected stream. If a nozzle having ejecting hole diameter of 1.0 millimeter is used, a marking line having its width less than 0.8 millimeter can be obtained. A marking line having width less than 1.3 millimeter can be obtained by using a nozzle having a diameter of 1.6 millimeter.

It has been observed that the width of the marking line remains unchanged when the nozzle height is varied up to about millimeter.

The marking line is not only very clear, but it is rigidly secured to the marked surface and may not be removed even if it is placed in water or is subjected by very hard friction.

Various modifications of the previously described preferred embodiment may be possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A gas cutting and marking device comprising:

a nozzle having a central ejecting hole and a surrounding passageway,

means for supplying fuel gas and oxygen to said surrounding passageway,

a three-way valve having one outlet and two inlets,

means for coupling said central ejecting hole to the outlet of said three-way valve,

a dispenser for fusible powder having an inlet and an outlet,

means for coupling the outlet of said dispenser to one of the'inlets of said three-way valve,

an oxygen source,

means for coupling said oxygen source to the other inlet of said three-way valve, a carrier gas source, and means for connecting said carrier gas source to the inlet of said dispenser,

said three-way valve permitting the switching of the device between a marking mode, in which the carrier gas can pass throughsaid dispenser and said three-way valve to said nozzle, and a gas-cutting mode, in which the oxygen from said oxygen source can pass through said three-way valve to said nozzle.

2. A gas cutting and marking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oxygen source is also the carrier gas source, oxygenbeing used as the carrier gas.

3. A gas cutting and marking device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said carrier gas source contains a gas selected from the group consisting of oxygen, air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, argon, and mixtures thereof.

4. A gas cutting and marking device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said dispenser for fusible powder contains a powder selected from the group consisting of zinc, aluminum, tin, copper, iron, and magnesium particles.

5. A gas cutting and marking device as claimed in A claim 1 wherein said dispenser contains plastic particles.

l I t l 

1. A gas cutting and marking device comprising: a nozzle having a central ejecting hole and a surrounding passageway, means for supplying fuel gas and oxygen to said surrounding passageway, a three-way valve having one outlet and two inlets, means for coupling said central ejecting hole to the outlet of said three-way valve, a dispenser for fusible powder having an inlet and an outlet, means for coupling the outlet of said dispenser to one of the inlets of said three-way valve, an oxygen source, means for coupling said oxygen source to the other inlet of said three-way valve, a carrier gas source, and means for connecting said carrier gas source to the inlet of said dispenser, said three-way valve permitting the switching of the device between a marking mode, in which the carrier gas can pass through said dispenser and said three-way valve to said nozzle, and a gas-cutting mode, in which the oxygen from said oxygen source can pass through said three-way valve to said nozzle.
 2. A gas cutting and marking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oxygen source is also the carrier gas source, oxygen being used as the carrier gas.
 3. A gas cutting and marking device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said carrier gas source contains a gas selected from the group consisting of oxygen, air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, argon, and mixtures thereof.
 4. A gas cutting and marking device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said dispenser for fusible powder contains a powder selected from the group consisting of zinc, aluminum, tin, copper, iron, and magnesium particles.
 5. A gas cutting and marking device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said dispenser contains plastic particles. 